It’s worth taking on a significant amount of debt in order to go to an important school, right?
Not according to Glenn Reynolds, professor of law at the University of Tennessee and author of the influential blog Instapundit. In his new, short book, “The Higher Education Bubble, Reynolds argues that numerous factors — especially the easy availability of money from government lending — has created a speculative bubble that will pop just like the housing crisis.
(Listen to audio of our full conversation here. Or download the podcast on iTunes.)
“Figure out what your degree is in, and figure out the return on your investment,” he told me when I asked what advice he would give to parents or new high school grads. And keep in mind, “What’s my Plan B if I either don’t get my degree, or the job market goes south?”
Reynolds advises, “Don’t borrow a lot of money. You can get an excellent education without borrowing a whole lot of money. With only a few exceptions, there isn’t a reason to spend a lot of money.”
Finally, he shares some wisdom from a friend: “If I see somebody with a degree in women’s studies or critical race theory, I am much less inclined to hire them. Because that to me is somebody who has learned nothing, but is much more likely to sue me.”
(Listen to audio of our full conversation here. Or download the podcast on iTunes.)